No Pressure
by Nora Mutao Frost
Summary: Zareth AU: Danny has some issues, and the best person to help work one out is tea time with Zane.


_No Pressure_

 _One Shot 2_

Zane hadn't been left alone with Danny before, but he understood her fear of him. For some reason she wasn't to sure he liked her. Even though she knew perfectly well Zareths gentle side was him. Yet there was that irrational fear of nindroids after what had just happened. Last night he had called her and got her to agree to meet with him. He wasn't to sure she would do it, but she wanted her to understand that he wasn't going to bite.

Their was a gentle knock to the door and he opened it. Danny looked up at the very tall nindroid and swallowed she hadn't realized how much taller he was next to Zareth. He was just about 6'8 she could guess. If she were to hug him she'd feel like a child all over again. Well sort of since she never really was a child.

Zane could see the conflict in her eyes. He moved out of the way so she could walk into the room. He hoped she wasn't to intimidated by him. Normally when that happens she wants the door to stay opened for a quick escape. Just like when she wants to keep the bathroom door open. At first he was afraid she was claustrophobic, but she told Zareth she was afraid of being alone, and her trusted him enough to save her if something happened. The idea that Zareth would just into the bathroom to see her full naked wasn't something they willingly wanted to do. Nor have they had to do so at all luckily. Although she had seen Zareth naked now because of her being stuck in his processor. She wasn't able to close her eyes unless he did, and he couldn't shower or go to the bathroom with his eyes closed."

Zane set some tea down on the coffee table and looked up at her.

"It has come to my understanding that you may have some questions about your new body, as well as the fact that you and I haven't had any time alone together."

"Oh so this is a date then?" Danny winked at him. Zane blushed and just turned away from her. Dannys smile disappeared and she swallowed hard. She poured two sugars into her tea before taking it into her small hands. "Okay so it must be Dareth that does the jokes then." Danny whispered to no one in particular. Zane looked at her and nodded his head.

"Yes I am not to good with the jokes. I don't really get the jokes to well." Zane said and cleared his throat. He could tell she was thinking. He knew she had tons of questions about herself and him. But their was always that one problem. She took a chance glance over him and then back at her hands again. "Its okay Danny...I will never harm you." He told her, Dannys eyes slowly looked up at him.

"I'm just...my head still tells me your the serious one though...which is why I tried to lighten the mood with a joke...it failed." She smiled at him. He gave her a gentle smile back.

"It was a fine attempt Danny." Zane said and took a sip of his own tea which probably wasn't tea at all, just warmed oil.

"Will I have to...to uh...drink oil?" She asked. Zane smiled at her.

"You already are." He pointed to the tea in her hands. "Its my own blend that way its not so...oil tasting." Danny gasped and looked into the cup, it just looked like normal tea.

"How did you even?" She looked at him amazed. "Well I knew you could cook and all that...but wh?" She stopped herself and took a sip and shrugged her shoulders trying to hide the momentary astonishment behind the cup. Zane laughed in spite of this and shook his head.

"You are certainly cute when your flustered." Dannys cheeks turned pink. She looked up at Zane her hands opened and closed for a second before she reached up like she had once before with Zareth. She was certainly textile sensitive. At first Zane was a little apprehensive for being touched by someone so close to his face. Danny dropped her hands back down and picked up the tea again. She didn't want to damage boundaries. Zane realized what she was doing and smiled at her. She took her hand in his and nodded his head. She looked up into his eyes. They were Zareths eyes, or well Zareth had Zanes eyes. She swallowed hard before reaching up again and ran her fingers over his hair. It was softer then she had thought. It looked metal, but it was soft. She smiled and leaned in and giggled. "I thought it would feel like Echos, but it actually feels lovely." She sat back and looked him in the eyes. His face though felt harder like the metal it was supposed to be. It had close to the same ridges that Zareths had, yet it didn't fall into Dareths flesh it was all metal. Her fingers followed the ridges. Danny gasped when Zanes own hands ran over to silver part of her hair. His fingers were freezing cold. She felt him feeling the lines over her face. Those lines were something she needed to get used to. She wanted so much for those lines to disappear. She wanted to much to look human again...to feel human again. But that wasn't ever going to happen again. Zane pulled back with a gasp when a tear slid down her face.

"Have I hurt you?" He asked searching her eyes for any signs of pain. She shook her head. Cupped her own hand over his fingers and leaned into his touch.

"I'm afraid I'll never feel normal again." Danny whispered. Zane pulled a cloth from his pocket and gave it to her. She used it to dry her eyes. "Stupid isn't it? Feeling like this without being thankful for what was done for me. I hurt Zareth so much, I'm sure it hurt you and Dareth a lot having me within his head for so long, and I haven't even thanked you both for doing that. I'm so…" She felt an icy finger over her lips. Zane looked mad for a second there. But she could have been mistaken.

"You being alive after our efforts is good enough for us. We did that by choice because we didn't want to lose our little sister." Zane said running his fingers through her hair before pulling back again.

"When you died...did it hurt?" Danny asked. Zane suddenly realized that she too went through the same thing he did with the dying and coming back part.

"It...did." He nodded his head and took her hand. "I didn't want you to go through that too Danny. If I could have stopped that bullet you know we would have." Danny smiled and nodded.

"I know...as if you haven't stepped in the line of fire before." She said and remembered the arrow. Only if it had moved up a few inches it would have hit the titanium instead and probably wouldn't have had any damage at all. Every scar they have...was still on Dareths body. A constant reminder that she...messed up.

"It wasn't your fault Danny...they went after both of us." Zane said running his hand over the ghost pain he felt in his stomach. "You took that bullet though." He said and jumped when she giggled at him.

"Now we're just pity partying about wounds. This wasn't supposed to be about wounds. Honestly...you drive awesomely."

"How did you know that was me?" Zane asked curiously.

"I've seen Dareth drive my car...its horrid." She laughed. "Its like Zareth is made up of the awesomest parts of both of you put together." Danny giggled almost bouncing in one spot. Zane chuckled and nodded his head.

"You know we figured out the reason why Dareth is able to fuse with me?" He asked and chuckled. Danny looked up and smiled.

"Oh and whys that?" she sipped the tea and sat back almost like she was ready to hear a story.

"It was the fact that Dareth looked back at his family tree and found the elemental master of Melding. He's able to meld his mind into someone else who has like attributes." zane said. Danny gasped and laughed. "So thats why he can't fuse with me. We aren't as similar to you both then...so whats the...like attribute?" She said the last bit slow almost like she wasn't able to say it correctly otherwise.

"We aren't sure. The only think we have in common is well...our souls. Dareth said he can see aura colors sometimes if he concentrates on them and ours is the same color and its really hard to find the same color. He says yours is a bronze color like your eyes. Ours is blue line mine." He told her. Danny was fascinated by this.

"Borg did say our optics tended to change color to match our souls." Danny said. Zane nodded his head sipping his tea again. "For some reason I figured Dareths would have been brown." She softly giggled and took a cookie from the small pile on a plate. She took a bite and her eyes grew big before she put the cookie back down.

"Uh...I think Cole made these…" Danny said spitting it out onto a napkin and threw it away. Zane looked at her face and poured her some more tea to wash it down with. He knew Coles cooking was a bit...off putting.

"Yes his cooking is a bit...better then when we first met, but...its still not the best. You haven't passed out yet at least."

"At least!" Danny exclaimed.

"Yes...it gave Jay a fever once and he passed out from it. His chili...even causes me some discomfort." Danny looked amazed at this and shook her head.

"Remind me not to eat here on those days. My stomach isn't as strong as yours." She said. Zane chuckled. Danny gasped and pointed at him. "You laughed." Zane blushed and nodded his head.

"Yes...sometimes I do find things funny." Zane saw Dannys shoulders slump a little as if something was lifted from them. She had been nervous, her smile even looked real now. She leaned back on the couch and sighed. "Good...I thought y…" She looked amazed at what she was about to say. Zane leaned back so he could look at her better.

"You thought…?" He encouraged her to keep going.

"I thought you just...tolerated me because of Dareth or Zareth. I'm...annoying, and I talk a lot, and...I cry a lot, and I…" Zane took hold of her hand and pulled her close hugging her tightly.

"Now why would I think that about my sister?" Danny gasped at this, her eye were wide and all the doubt seemed to wash away with those words. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She slowly put her arms around him too attempting to complete the circuit if you will. She set her head down on his shoulder and just lay there for a second. Coming there that day she didn't think she'd even get a hug from him must less get called sister. Actually she thought she would have been there for fifteen minutes tops asking questions. She didn't expect tea, or a little chit chat or...to end up with far more family then she ever thought she had. She was so lonely without Zareth around in a family sense. Dareth was her boyfriend and one day if she played her cards right a family would happen, but this was different. This was the other side of Zareth she so longed to know. Here she was holding him, and she was being held back. For no reason except that she was his. His sister. She pulled back finally and looked up at Zane and let out a labored breath before continuing. "Sorry I just…" He ran his finger over her cheek and nodded his head.

"I understand. I was once alone too."

"Never again." Danny whispered.

"No...never again."


End file.
